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Daily Stock Watch – Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

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Hello, everyone and welcome to the Thursday segment of the special Masters 25 edition of the Daily Stock Watch! We're going down to my final two picks for this set, and my choice for today is a rather unpopular one among my peers. I think that this has something to do with its past success, but we have to focus more on how good it is faring in the current metagame. In that regard, I think that this is one of the better rares financially from the set, although how it will behave in the coming months is something that would be affected by its performance in Modern.

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With the arrival of Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Bloodbraid Elf, Modern suddenly became a wide open field that players would like to dominate in their own way. The format was diverse prior to their unbanning, and I still think that it remains just as healthy even with these two superstars back in it. What suddenly got lost in transition so far is the Humans deck that Collins Mullen made popular late last year, as more people online have started meddling with Zoo lists that tries to abuse the power of BBE. The card advantage that BBE brings to the table is quite hard to ignore, and this has somehow affected the number of players who are using Humans. As we all know, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is one of the best two drops in that deck by all means necessary (especially with the platoon of JtMS users running around), and it could still go toe-to-toe with any creature in the Zoo deck whose toughness is lower than three.

I don't think that the Humans deck has to evolve right away to adapt to these changes, but maybe some minor tweaking in its list would do. Take a look at how a stock list is configured to combat the meta nowadays.

5 Color Humans

Creatures

4 Champion of the Parish
1 Kessig Malcontents
4 Kitesail Freebooter
4 Mantis Rider
4 Meddling Mage
4 Noble Hierarch
4 Phantasmal Image
4 Reflector Mage
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Other Spells

4 Aether Vial

Lands

4 Ancient Ziggurat
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Horizon Canopy
1 Plains
2 Seachrome Coast
4 Unclaimed Territory

Sideboard

2 Dismember
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Izzet Staticaster
1 Kambal, Consul of Allocation
1 Kessig Malcontents
2 Mirran Crusader
2 Sin Collector
2 Vithian Renegades
1 Xathrid Necromancer

Unlike the Zoo deck that tries to outlast its opponents with the raw power of its creatures, this Humans deck has been so synergistic in dismantling what's in front of it. Thalia, GoT plays a key role in what it wants to accomplish as it gives the Humans player the much needed time to inflict enough damage to the other side before even being threatened by a sweeper like Supreme Verdict or Anger of the Gods. If this deck could remain in tier one territory for the months to come, this reprint in M25 should be the best time for you to pick up your copies for playing purposes.

The M25 Chase Rares

I'm not really excited to open a Vesuvan Shapeshifter or Bident of Thassa from my M25 packs, but the initial wave of the product should be heavily opened both for its nostalgic feels and financial value. I don't think that Thalia, GoT will be able to hold its current value once M25 cards are everywhere, and I'm also not a fan of it for spec purposes. I could either be right or very wrong on this one, but I'd say stay away from it as a spec target.

At the moment, online stores such as StarCityGames, ChannelFireball, CardKingdom, and TCGPlayer are pre-selling Thalia, GoT for $11.91 up to $14.99. The WMCQ copies of this card has been off the charts since the Human deck's emergence, so I don't see that big of a room for gains in getting normal foils from M25. I'd like to get copies if they start falling below $8, and I'm honestly still on the fence if I'll get a lot of it for that price. I just don't think that it will still be that good going forward, unless the deck starts winning again. Based on recent tournaments, it has been a roguefest for players who are making the top eight of big events, and it might take a while for the format to stabilize again. I'd rather invest on the really good cards for the time being.

And that’s it for the Thursday edition of the Daily Stock Watch! See you again tomorrow, as I preview my last pick from Masters 25. As always, feel free to share your opinion in the comments section below. And if you want to keep up with all the market movement, be sure to check in with the QS Discord Channel for real time market information, and stay ahead of the hottest specs!

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